... while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 3:20, 21)
This passage is one that is not easily understood or interpreted. Since water baptism does not really save anyone, what could be the meaning of linking Noah’s Ark to water baptism?
...Eight souls were saved by water
Since we know that eight souls (Noah and his family) were saved by the Ark, how could they be saved by water? The only explanation is that because the Ark was a water-tight “ship” it was always afloat throughout the time of the flood, so the water surrounding the Ark “saved” those inside simply by keeping the Ark afloat. And the Ark was “baptized” (immersed) in the torrential rains which accompanied the Flood and added to it, but was eventually “resurrected” when the flood subsided, and the Ark landed on Mount Ararat.
The like figure...
The Greek word for “figure” is antitupon (“antitype”) – a representation, pattern, or image of a spiritual reality or person which would then be the “type”. So water baptism is the “type” and the Ark in the flood waters is the antitype.
Even baptism doth also now save us...
Thus just as the Flood waters did not literally save Noah’s family, but indirectly contributed to their deliverance from the Flood, so water baptism does not literally save anyone, but contributes to the sanctification of the believer. This is the only way to understand “even baptism doth also now save us”. Sanctification is a part of salvation, which begins with justification and ends with glorification.
We know that Christian baptism is a commandment of the Lord, and it is imperative that every believer be baptized immediately or almost immediately upon conversion. The Acts of the Apostles makes this crystal clear. So it is in reality the first step in the sanctification of the saint – obedience to the commandment of Christ, and a recognition that the sinner “died” with Christ and also “rose again” with Him through symbolic death, burial, and resurrection in baptism by immersion.
Not the putting away of the filth of the flesh...
This makes it crystal clear that water baptism has nothing to do with normal bathing, neither does it have anything to do with cleansing the spiritual “filth of the flesh” (the vile and filthy sins of the sinner). Only the blood of Jesus Christ God’s Son can cleanse the soul from the guilt and defilement of sin.
But the answer of a good conscience toward God...
A person will have a good conscience towards God when he or she has done exactly what God has commanded. God commands all men everywhere to repent. So repentance is a necessity for salvation to be genuine. God also commands all men to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. So faith in the Person and finished work of Christ is a necessity for salvation. But then God commands every believer to be baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. So when a person has been born again, their first desire must be to be baptized by immersion in obedience to Christ. Therefore all of this is the answer of a good conscience toward God.
By the resurrection of Jesus Christ
The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is the key to understanding the significance of water baptism. The Bible says that Christ rose again for our justification. We could not have been justified by grace through faith unless the Lord had experienced His death, burial, and resurrection. Since He paid the sin debt in full, God’s grace could freely flow towards sinful humanity in salvation. But in order to make Christ’s resurrection power a reality in the life of the believer, he or she too must symbolically die, be buried, and rise again “to walk in newness of life”. What the saint tells the world through water baptism is that he is dead to his old sinful life and sinful ways, and alive exclusively to Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit (who could only be given as a gift after the resurrection of Christ).
This passage is one that is not easily understood or interpreted. Since water baptism does not really save anyone, what could be the meaning of linking Noah’s Ark to water baptism?
...Eight souls were saved by water
Since we know that eight souls (Noah and his family) were saved by the Ark, how could they be saved by water? The only explanation is that because the Ark was a water-tight “ship” it was always afloat throughout the time of the flood, so the water surrounding the Ark “saved” those inside simply by keeping the Ark afloat. And the Ark was “baptized” (immersed) in the torrential rains which accompanied the Flood and added to it, but was eventually “resurrected” when the flood subsided, and the Ark landed on Mount Ararat.
The like figure...
The Greek word for “figure” is antitupon (“antitype”) – a representation, pattern, or image of a spiritual reality or person which would then be the “type”. So water baptism is the “type” and the Ark in the flood waters is the antitype.
Even baptism doth also now save us...
Thus just as the Flood waters did not literally save Noah’s family, but indirectly contributed to their deliverance from the Flood, so water baptism does not literally save anyone, but contributes to the sanctification of the believer. This is the only way to understand “even baptism doth also now save us”. Sanctification is a part of salvation, which begins with justification and ends with glorification.
We know that Christian baptism is a commandment of the Lord, and it is imperative that every believer be baptized immediately or almost immediately upon conversion. The Acts of the Apostles makes this crystal clear. So it is in reality the first step in the sanctification of the saint – obedience to the commandment of Christ, and a recognition that the sinner “died” with Christ and also “rose again” with Him through symbolic death, burial, and resurrection in baptism by immersion.
Not the putting away of the filth of the flesh...
This makes it crystal clear that water baptism has nothing to do with normal bathing, neither does it have anything to do with cleansing the spiritual “filth of the flesh” (the vile and filthy sins of the sinner). Only the blood of Jesus Christ God’s Son can cleanse the soul from the guilt and defilement of sin.
But the answer of a good conscience toward God...
A person will have a good conscience towards God when he or she has done exactly what God has commanded. God commands all men everywhere to repent. So repentance is a necessity for salvation to be genuine. God also commands all men to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. So faith in the Person and finished work of Christ is a necessity for salvation. But then God commands every believer to be baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. So when a person has been born again, their first desire must be to be baptized by immersion in obedience to Christ. Therefore all of this is the answer of a good conscience toward God.
By the resurrection of Jesus Christ
The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is the key to understanding the significance of water baptism. The Bible says that Christ rose again for our justification. We could not have been justified by grace through faith unless the Lord had experienced His death, burial, and resurrection. Since He paid the sin debt in full, God’s grace could freely flow towards sinful humanity in salvation. But in order to make Christ’s resurrection power a reality in the life of the believer, he or she too must symbolically die, be buried, and rise again “to walk in newness of life”. What the saint tells the world through water baptism is that he is dead to his old sinful life and sinful ways, and alive exclusively to Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit (who could only be given as a gift after the resurrection of Christ).